


Questions Left Unanswered

by prouvairecateur



Series: Questions Left Unanswered [1]
Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Minor Enjolras/Grantaire, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouvairecateur/pseuds/prouvairecateur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He scanned the room, taking in the faces of his friends- the men he considered his brothers. What would happen to them? Was everything going to go according to plan? What if it didn’t?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Questions Left Unanswered

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of an ongoing canon era story I have planned. Each part will center around two or three particular characters and their relationship/friendship. This one is mainly Courfeyrac and Jehan.

Courfeyrac pulled Jehan’s chair closer to him, as Enjolras began to speak at the front of the room. The poet gave his companion a frustrated look. He continued to scribble on his paper, paying Courfeyrac no mind. 

He merely smirked and reached out a hand to tuck a stray hair behind the other man’s ear. Before he could pull his arm away, Jehan grabbed it and flipped it facing upward onto the table in front of them. The light scratching against his arm told Courfeyrac that Jehan was now using his skin as a writing surface. Smiling he relaxed into his seat, content to spend the rest of the night with the young man by his side.

Enjolras’ words became background noise in Courfeyrac’s head, simply because he had been exhausted all day and couldn’t pay attention to anything for long enough. He also had been putting a lot of thought into what everything really meant to him. Of course he was ready to stand up with Enjolras, but was he ready for the consequences of these actions?

He scanned the room, taking in the faces of his friends- the men he considered his brothers. What would happen to them? Was everything going to go according to plan? What if it didn’t?

His eyes eventually fell to the man sitting next to him, scribbling furiously on his arm. What about Jehan? Courfeyrac knew the young man was brave and would follow Enjolras in this fight, no matter the cost. That’s what worried him the most; he seemed so unafraid of what would come. 

The scratching against his arm paused and he leaned toward Jehan to see what had halted his writing. In response, the poet forcefully pushed Courfeyrac’s head away, mumbling about how he wasn’t finished yet. 

Courfeyrac just shook his head and returned to his previous position, draping his free arm around the back of Jehan’s chair, barely brushing past the smaller man’s back. If Jehan felt the light touch, he didn’t show any sign of doing so. He just hunched his shoulders and began to write again.

The rest of the night passed quickly, and before Courfeyrac knew it, Enjolras was adjourning the meeting for the evening. He made to stretch out before standing up, then remembered that he was currently being used as stationary and didn’t want to disturb Jehan. He used the hand that was resting against the man’s chair to rub circles on his friend’s back. He could see the hint of a smile form behind the veil of hair. 

“I think I am almost done,” Jehan stated. His eyebrows were set in concentration, but his eyes held something else entirely. He almost looked upset. 

“’s no rush,” Courfeyrac replied, though he was concerned about the man’s withering expression. 

He knew Jehan got this way, every once in a while, when he was immersed in his writing. This was usually the time that he let his truest emotions show clearly on his face. He would get so caught up that he wouldn’t even know what he was doing. 

The others were beginning to slowly file out. Enjolras and Combeferre were talking enthusiastically about what was said during the meeting, while Enjolras finished sorting out his papers. Usually the two friends were the last to leave; most of the time Combeferre would be supporting an inebriated Grantaire on his shoulder to make sure he made it out of the café safely. The scholar always took extra care to ensure his friends’ safety.

That evening, Grantaire had left early and in a somber yet somewhat sober state. At the time, Courfeyrac was listening to something Marius was saying, and he didn’t hear the remark made before the cynic rose from his seat and stormed out of the building. He had assumed it was something to do with Enjolras, by the way the leader seemed to wear a guilty expression for the rest of the night. 

When the pair had finished packing and carried their conversation outside, Courfeyrac turned to Jehan and asked, “Did you hear what happened with Grantaire?” 

The poet shrugged. “I think Enjolras said something pretty harsh, and you know how Grantaire can be.” He never looked up, opting instead to make his final marks on Courfeyrac, blowing on the ink-marked skin to dry it. He read the words carefully whilst letting his fingers gently trail a path down the other man’s arm. Courfeyrac closed his eyes and hummed peacefully at the light touches. These seemingly insignificant moments were what made him happiest, when he was with his friends.

He treasured the time he spent with each of his companions and not a minute was wasted. With some of them, he would chat good-naturedly, drinking until they couldn’t form coherent sentences. He would often talk about whatever the other wanted to talk about- philosophy with Combeferre, politics with Enjolras, and life in general with Marius. 

Everything is different with Jehan though. They didn’t need to drink or talk very often. Many of their conversations did not contain words, just exchanged looks and kind gestures. Sure they would talk about things when needed, but both of them were content to let the quiet fill the room around them, their breathing being the only noise. 

A small drop of moisture on his arm brought him back from his thoughts. Jehan looked furious and it seemed as though he couldn’t stop a few tears from escaping the corner of his eye.

“Is everything alright, Jehan?” Courfeyrac leaned forward to see what was bothering the young man, when Jehan pushed him away with all the force of his body. 

Courfeyrac went tumbling out of his chair and landed with a loud thump on the hard, wooden floor. By the time he could make sense of what had happened, Jehan was quickly headed for the door.

Picking himself up off the ground, he followed the young poet out of the room, calling his name pleadingly. He kept a comfortable space behind Jehan, even though they both knew that he could easily keep up. 

By the time they reached Jehan’s destination, his face was red and he was struggling with every breath he took. He was pacing and holding his head, muttering quietly to himself. 

Courfeyrac approached the man as calmly as possible, careful to stay at least an arm’s length away. He coughed once to remind Jehan that he was there with him. The poet lifted his head and looked at his friend with a fierce expression. “Why are you here?” he spat, stepping closer to Courfeyrac. He grabbed a fist of Courfeyrac’s shirt and pulled him to his face. “I just need to be alone.” His tone softened as he finished his sentence, his eyes more sad than angry now. “Please.” 

They stared at each other for several moments before Jehan grabbed Courfeyrac by the back of the neck and pulled his face down to meet his in a flushed kiss. Courfeyrac’s eyes grew wide before he relaxed into the embrace, holding Jehan by the shoulders. 

They separated moments later, out of breath, and pressed their foreheads together. Courfeyrac lifted the arm with the writing on it. The words were smudged by his sweat and the way it rubbed against his sleeve. He could only point out the words ‘love,’ ‘life,’ ‘death,’ and ‘friends’. Jehan had written something about their group and, from what he could tell, these thoughts were what was bothering him. 

“Say something,” Jehan breathed, clenching his teeth as though he was in pain. 

“What do you want me to say?”

Jehan pulled out of Courfeyrac’s arms and began to pace again. “What is going to happen, Courf?” His voice was soft. “I mean, to us. To all of us. You know Lamarque isn’t going to be alive much longer and Enjolras will want to act soon.”

“Are you having second thoughts about this?”

Jehan looked at his companion with a hint of sadness, before looking to his feet. “Of course not. I am just as devoted to the cause as the next man. You know that.” He kicked at a loose stone near his foot. “I just want to know that everything will be okay.”

Courfeyrac placed his hand on Jehan’s back and pressed his lips to the young man’s temple. “I know.”

“What’s going to happen?” Jehan repeated, his hands clenched in fists at his sides. Courfeyrac didn’t know where all this doubt and anger was coming from. Jehan was usually the most level-headed of everyone in the group when it came to this sort of thing. He was always so composed and was there to listen to anyone who needed to get something off their chests. Courfeyrac never saw this side of Jehan and he had his suspicion that not many people have before. Jehan was a very emotional person, he just never really expressed it this openly. 

Courfeyrac took Jehan’s hands in his, turning the man to face him. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. None of us do.” Jehan smiled and nodded, understanding what the other man was trying to say. “We will just have to wait and see.”

They parted ways with a small smile and an embrace, thinking of what lied ahead- so many words left unsaid, so many questions left unanswered.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know if you want to see a specific pair or trio of characters next. You can find more of my writing here and at prouvairecateur.tumblr.com. You guys are all lovely and I hope you liked this story.


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